Hot Art Celebrity: Paris Hilton

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Paris Hilton denied entry by Japan

Following her detention in South Africa in July during the World Cup on suspicion of marijuana possession (the allegation was dropped when another woman in her group pleaded guilty to carrying the drug), socialite and Hotel heiress Paris Hilton was denied entry into Japan on Wednesday, various agency reports said. This is Japan’s response to Hilton’s pleading guilty to a misdemeanor drug charge in Las Vegas, two days after it.

Paris Hilton, 29, was stopped by Japanese immigration authorities upon her arrival at Narita International Airport on Tuesday. Hilton was went to Japan, where she had a sizeable fan following and her endorsed products, especially Paris Hilton Fragrances, fashion accessories such as handbags and footwear, to promote her fashion and fragrance lines in Tokyo on Wednesday, which had to be canceled.

Kazuo Kashihara, an immigration official at Narita said about the incident, "We met her this morning, the process of determining whether she can enter Japan or not is still ongoing." Under the Japanese law, immigration authorities can deny entry to those who were convicted of drug-related offenses.

Unfortunately for Paris Hilton, her ambitious program of Asia tour is under cloud as she was unceremoniously stopped and interrogated on her first stop of the tour, Tokyo, which was to be followed by Hilton’s visit to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and inauguration of a new retail store in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Though Indonesia too has strict drug laws, Indonesia does not bar foreigners convicted of crimes in other countries and Hilton is unlikely to be denied entry into that country.

Hilton's representative Dawn Miller said in a statement that Hilton was disappointed with the scrutiny her case by the Japanese authorities. "Paris was contractually bound to her business trip and didn't want to let down her brands and many Asian fans," Dawn Miller 's statement said, adding, "She intended on fulfilling her contract and is trying hard to do the responsible thing, but this is beyond her control. She is very disappointed by tonight's events."

Hilton's was arrested last month in Las Vegas, when an officer found a small amount of cocaine in her purse, upon which Hilton pleaded guilty to drug possession and obstructing an officer and was placed on informal probation for one year. But the terms of her sentence did not restrict travel overseas, as Clark County District Attorney David Roger said, "We have no legal basis to restrict her from traveling throughout the United States or throughout the world."

According to the sentence handed out to her, it requires Paris Hilton to complete a drug program, pay a $2,000 fine and serve 200 hours of community service.

In 2007 Paris Hilton served 23 days in a Los Angeles jail after she was found to have violated her probation on an alcohol-related reckless driving case.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010